25 Days of Turtles
by totaldramaturtletitan
Summary: Not much to say in the summary. This is the Advent Calender challenge, a series of unrelated one shots for the holidays. There's a lot of cute moments and yeah.
1. Snow

**Well, look who's already late for the Advent Calender Challenge? Yeah, I'm lame, and I let December sneak up on me. But don't worry! I shall catch up as soon as possible! Anyway, here's the first little story! Please enjoy or whatever.**

**The turtles aren't mine.**

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Day One: Snow

Snow wasn't a new thing to the turtles; after all, they had been going to the surface for over a year now, and they often saw the white powder covering the streets. But with no-nonsense Leonardo as their leader, they never got a chance to actually play in it. However, the new month seemed to have put him in a good mood, and not even he was immune to the temptation of the flurries falling around them. Before they had even finished patrol, he stopped them with a smile.

"Okay guys, I think you've earned a break. So, if you want to, we can stop to play in the-" He didn't need to finish. The other three were already off and running, pushing each other with grins as they searched for the perfect patch of snow. By the time Leo caught up, they had found exactly what they were looking for.

Slightly hidden by trees, but still allowing the moon's light to stream in, was a round clearing, large in size and covered with at least a foot of snow. The three were already involved in typical winter activities. Raph was forming multiple snowballs, no doubt for use on the other three later. Mikey was rolling a much larger ball, fulfilling his long time dream of making the world's best snowman. Donnie was studying the snow like a toddler does when seeing it for the first time, admiring the individual crystals of ice. As Leo watch his younger brothers play, he felt a brief sense of pride, as though he was their parent and was allowing them into the vast white land.

This silent emotion was cut off by a burst of cold hitting his face. After the initial shock wore off, Leo watched the others laugh, staying silent as he bent over and picked up a handful of snow. Forming his own ammunition behind his back, he let loose, hitting Mikey's plastron. This one attack sent off a million more, as each mutant rushed to make his own fort and his own snowballs, attacking each other with wide grins.

The younger three had thought they were getting out of any training, while in reality they were training themselves. Unknowingly, they used flips, stealth, and anything else they had learned to give themselves an advantage over the others. In doing so, they learned new things and cemented new skills, doing exactly what Leo had wanted them to. Not that it mattered: regardless of whether they learned anything, it was pretty fun to just play in the snow.


	2. Decorations

**Two chapters in one day! Whoo! Maybe by tomorrow I'll be caught up! **

**I'm too lame to own turtles.**

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Day 2: Decorating

The turtles typically did nothing for Christmas. They couldn't exactly go into the nearest store to pick up any decorations, and besides, where would they get presents? But this year was different. This year, they were all enthusiastic about the holiday and were going all out with it. Seeing as decorating was one of the biggest traditions of Christmas, that was their current priority.

They had woken up early that morning in anticipation of finally celebrating Christmas. Each brother was given a set task. Each decoration would have to be homemade, seeing as they couldn't be store bought. Originally, April had tried to convince them to let her buy some ornaments or other things of the sort, but they wouldn't let her. After all, it 'completely destroys all the fun of it!' as they told her multiple times.

This didn't stop the redhead from waking just as early to bring them breakfast while they worked. When she walked in on four mutants sitting at tables with various crafting items around them, she nearly choked on her laughter. Mikey was covered in glue, Raph was stabbing a piece of cardboard enthusiastically, and Donnie was staring at a paper snowflake in complete concentration. Leo was running from table to table, picking up finished things and placing them on yet another table.

When April stepped into the room, they all gasped, talking at once about what they were doing and how awesome their decorations would be. Before she could stop him, Mikey had run up and pulled her into a hug. By the time she had pushed him away, she was covered in glue herself. "Mikey!"

"Sorry April! You wanna help me make ornaments? I'm kinda just making a mess..." Mikey said this with a bright smile, bouncing lightly. He didn't wait for an answer, grabbing her hand and yanking her back to his table. This was just as messy as he was, but at this point April was so filled with the Christmas spirit that she didn't care. Donnie smiled from a table over, delicately placing down a new snowflake. Raph went back to whatever he was doing, apparently deciding his decorations were currently most important.

Looking down the row of tables as Mikey chattered about the different things he was making, April got a vision of Santa's workshop, filled with elves working away to get ready for the new holiday. The fact that they had never gotten to do this before made the whole site a lot cuter, and she wondered how many other firsts were going to come, even if they were years late. Hopefully, she get to see all these firsts along with them. Whether she did or not, she knew this Christmas would be one of the best.


	3. Candy Canes

**Guess who missed another day! But I'll be home all day tomorrow, so I'll just do...three? chapters then. Maybe four if I'm counting wrong.**

**The babies aren't mine.**

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Day 3: Candy Canes

"Guys! I brought something for you!" April's voice rang through the lair as she walked in, swinging a shopping bag. Her answer was a delighted gasp followed by a green blur. Soon, she realized that it was Mikey who had run in and was now staring at her expectantly. A bit put off by his fast appearance, the redhead waited for the other three brothers to come in before continuing. "Since this is your first real Christmas and all, I decided to bring you a traditional Christmas candy!"

The four perked up, watching with bright eyes as she pulled out a red box. "Candy canes! You can't have Christmas without them!" She continued talking, telling about the legend of the candy cane and the countless things you can use them for. She finished with a game of sorts. "If you finish the entire candy cane without biting down on it even once, you get to make a wish. If you do bite it, the wish will become the opposite of true, though, so be careful what you wish for."

"Maybe Donnie could wish for a face that isn't so ugly mutants have to grab it!" Three mutants burst into laughter while the third flushed, rolling his eyes.

April stifled a laugh, stopping when she saw Donnie's fierce albeit joking glare. Once everyone had calmed down, she handed each turtle a candy cane. Each of them held up the wrapped candy in confusion, unsure how to open it. As anyone who's ever eaten a candy cane before knows, it's hard to open them with five fingers, never mind three. It took a bit before Mikey finally gasped in realization, tearing at the plastic with his teeth. The others quickly followed suit, and before long they each had candy in their mouths.

And even though they had poked fun at the story earlier, they all made sure that they didn't even nibble on their candy canes.

After all, who couldn't use a wish?


	4. Cold

**I'm screwing the calendar up so much. These next three chapters weren't supposed to be posted until the 17th-19th, but I had more inspiration for them than I did for the actual themes. Anyway, I will get all three chapters posted today, along with an update to at least one of my other stories. Oh wow, my author notes are long. Sorry!**

**I'm all out of nice disclaimers.**

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Day 4: Cold

"Donnie!" The voices ringing through the lair could barely penetrate the wall of blankets Donatello had covered himself with. As to be expected in the sewers in December, it was freezing. Every year, the mutants had to deal with the frosty temperatures, but this year, they had assumed Donnie could change that. After all, he had plenty of technology and equipment, but he told them countless times that he couldn't.

Well, it wasn't that he couldn't so much as he wouldn't. When his brothers were cold, they huddled on the couch and complained. They didn't play dodgeball, or run around the lair, or make loud noises. Most notably, they didn't break things that Donnie would have to fix later. Every winter, he got a bit of peace, even if that peace was accompanied by the cold.

There was no doubt in the genius's mind that he'd regret not heating the lair. The cold affected him more than the others, and he could already feel a cold coming on. By the next day, he'd be sick as a dog, but the ability to work in silence made this bearable.

"DONNIE!" Well, almost silence. The demanding screams of his frozen brothers did take some of his smugness away. But he ignored them, huddling with his laptop. The internet was comforting, interesting, and infinitely less annoying than most people, and so he'd hide there until the others started hibernating or something.

So invested was Donnie in his laptop that he didn't hear the lab door opening, nor did he hear the pounding footsteps. Nothing, however, could keep him from noticing the rush of icy air as his fort was torn away from him. He was left sitting in his chair in shock, colder than he had though possible. He turned to the doorway just in time to see a pile of blankets with a red bandanna leave the room, leaving Donnie nothing to keep himself from freezing.

With this new motivation, Donnie found it much easier to build a heater for the lair. Of course, that didn't mean he had to share it withe the rest of his brothers.

After all, they had blankets.


	5. Warmth

**Almost caught up! And hopefully, I'll be completely caught up pretty soon! This chapter's really short and junk though. Sorry!**

**They don't belong to me.**

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Day 5: Warmth

Raph yawned, rolling over in his bed with a light moan. The movement wasn't easier-winter temperatures had forced him to cover his bed in multiple blankets and pillows. The majority of those had been stolen from his brothers in the middle of the night. Sure, they were probably freezing, but he was warm.

He was in the half-awake, half-asleep stage when his door opened. Somewhere in his mind, he figured it was one of his brothers looking for warmth. Sure enough, the stranger spoke, no doubt shivering if his voice had anything to go by.

"R-Raph? Come on dude, it's cold." The youngest turtle didn't receive an answer, standing by his brother's bed with his teddy bear in hand. "Raph?" When he still didn't get an answer, Mikey sighed and searched for an opening in the blankets. When he found one, he smiled, crawling in and snuggling next to his brother. "Night Raph."

The mutant stiffened, glaring at his little brother. He started to push him out of the bed, but paused. If Mikey went off the bed, some of the blankets would too, and it was pretty cold out there. At least with Mikey cuddling up next to him, he'd be warmer. Hoping Leo didn't come in to wake him up in the morning, he pulled Mikey closer. "Night, Mikey." With that, he smiled, allowing the warmth to lull him to sleep.


	6. Mistletoe

**WARNING CAPRIL AHEAD THERE IS CAPRIL AHEAD CAPRIL**

**Okay, I'm one of those unfortunate souls who ships Capril and Apritello equally. After much thinking, I chose to do Capril in this story. This chapter is my personal favorite so far, and so I hope it's good. I'm not very good at writing Casey though, so bear with the ooc!**

**I own nothing.**

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Day 6: Mistletoe

April shivered, pulling her coat around her tightly as she walked through the streets of New York. She had gone to watch Casey play hockey, and his team had won. This wasn't a shock: she had seen him take out multiple foot bots while on the ice, so hockey wasn't too terrible.

The redhead smiled, a light blush appearing on her cheeks as she thought about her new friend. He was a great guy, and although she wouldn't admit to herself, much less someone else, she was developing a small crush on him. He was really sweet once you got past his cocky exterior.

"You cold, Red?" Speaking of the devil, he ran up beside her, pulling her into a side hug. "I saw you in the bleachers. Thanks for coming." She looked up at him, rolling her eyes.

"You saw me in the crowd? Specifically me? Wow, one would think you were looking for me." She noticed the teasing, flirty time her voice had taken on and cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"I always do. This is the first time I've ever seen you though." Casey said this quietly, the red on his cheeks matching the blush April could feel on hers. They walked in awkward silence until Casey lightly pushed April. "Tag! You're it!" Despite having just acted like a five year old, he wasn't embarrassed at all. Before the other could react, he was running, slipping on the ice as he did. She scoffed, taking chase and nearly falling in the same place he had.

It wasn't until they had reached Central Park that she managed to catch up. Just as she got close enough to grab him, she stumbled. Grabbing Casey's arm did nothing to keep her from falling; instead, both of them landed in the snow. "You're it."

He laughed, standing and helping her stand as well. "You're pretty fast. Ya know, considering you caught me." He smirked, but that faded when he saw the plant above him. Trying to brush off his sudden nervousness, he smiled. "Mistletoe. Christmas tradition says we have to kiss."

Brushing her hair back, April avoided eye contact. Her cheeks were red, but she hoped to brush that off as the cold. She opened her mouth to give a witty comeback, but the words were cut off by a light kiss. It lasted less than a second, and at first she thought she had imagined it.

"You're it." The whisperer smiled, taking off once again. April stood watching, heart fluttering for a moment before sprinting after him. Maybe if she was lucky, they'd end up under more mistletoe.


	7. Chimneys

**Hey! I'm all caught up, and I'm staying caught up! I'm so proud of myself! Okay, I'm trying to get stories from the perspectives of every character, so today is a Mikey! The only exceptions to this are the bad guys and possibly Master Splinter, since he's hard to write, but if there's someone you think needs more writing about, let me know! **

**Disclaimer: I'm not the owner.**

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Day 7: Chimneys

Mikey flipped through an old picture book from when he was younger, as he often did when he was bored. This particular book was about Christmas and was filled with fun rhymes and pictures. As he read, he hummed Christmas carols with a smile. One thing seemed reoccurring in the book, and as Mikey thought more about it, his smile faded. He sat up and nervously said, "Donnie? How will Santa bring us our presents if we don't have a chimney?"

At once, he regretted asking the question. His brothers' faces were a mix of concern, disbelief, and nervousness. They glanced at each other as though they were having a secret conversation, something they often did when Mikey was concerned. "Guys! I hate it when you do that!"

He never really knew what they were thinking, but every time they did that, it was followed by a whack on the head or horrible news, like the time he found out that leprechauns weren't-

He gasped, eyes widening. Trying not to cry, he whispered, "Guys...S-santa Claus is real, right?" They gave each other another look, and he clapped a hand over his hand. Voice shaking, he asked again. "He's real, right?" Leo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"N-no, Mikey, Santa isn't-" A hand clapped over his mouth, cutting off his sentence.

"-Going to miss us! Trust me, we'll get our gifts." Raph finished the statement with an enthusiastic grin. Donnie nodded quickly, and after a moment, so did Leo. Mikey accepted the strange episode and directed his eyes to Donnie, waiting for an answer.

"Well...I'm really not supposed to tell anybody, but Santa and I already figured all that stuff out. He's gonna drop the presents down a manhole, and on Christmas morning, I'll go get it! Then I'll bring it back here and we can see what he got us!" Before he finished speaking, Mikey had pulled him into a hug.

"Thanks, Donnie! Christmas is gonna be so awesome!" He grinned, pulling away and skipping to his room. As he left, his three brothers glanced at each other again, each making a mental note to make a extra gift for each other, signed by Santa.


	8. Stars

**Chapter eight! Two days late, as per the norm. We're getting snow here, so I'll have all day to update, so that's good. This chapter is longer than I expected it to be, and there's some Apritello fluffyness, which makes me feel bad about the Capril chapter. And this note is pointless, so...Thanks for all the sweet reviews, and enjoy the new chapter!**

**They aren't mine.**

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Day 8: Stars

New York was a big city. It was filled with buildings, people, lights, and every other urban thing that you could think of. Of course, these urban things eliminated a lot of rural things. Things like plants, animals outside of pigeons and squirrels, and unfortunately stars. Most nights, the sky was a gray mixture of clouds and smog, with a few airplanes here and there. But some nights, the stars broke through, letting their light shine.

Donatello was in his lab, like always, and he didn't know that tonight was one of those nights. He didn't even think to check until his computer beeped, alerting him of a new instant message. The username-Redheadoneil-didn't come as a shock to him. After all, April was his only real human friend, or, friend in general, and his brothers never used instant messaging.

Redheadoneil: have you seen the stars out tonight?

Techturtle: Haven't looked outside. Are they nice?

Redheadoneil: gorgeous

Redheadoneil: you should come over. ill listen to your spiels about constellations :)

Techturtle: You'll regret saying that. I know a lot about stars.

Redheadoneil: you know a lot about everything. nerd

Redheadoneil: kidding, of course. so are you coming?

Techturtle: You're nice. And yeah, I'll be right over.

With that, he logged off and stood, his heart fluttering. He had to admit, he was excited. After all, how often does a mutant turtle get to stargaze with the girl of his dreams? Tonight, he would just forget about her boyfriend and and just enjoy her company. 'Tis the season for joy, right? And spending an evening with April O'neil would definitely be joyful.

Donnie didn't bother telling his brothers were he was going. He typically spent the night in his lab, and they never bothered checking on him, so why would they tonight? Just to be safe though, he left a hastily scribbled note on his desk swearing he'd be home soon before taking off.

As soon as he reached the surface, he knew April was right. The stars were emitting a beautiful glow, making the mutant forget he lived in the middle of a large city. The temperature wasn't quite so low tonight, either: it was perfect for December, even with the breeze blowing through. It seemed like everything about this night was going to be perfect, and Donnie was determined to keep it this way.

He walked through the shadows and alleys of the city, hiding as he admired the stars. Of course, he couldn't walk forever, and soon arrived at April's apartment. She had set a blanket on the roof and was staring at the sky, her hair pulled loose and spiralling down her back. Her blue eyes were filled with wonder as she studied the stars.

Donnie landed silently behind her, picking up a strand of her hair. He and his brothers were all fascinated with her hair, so much that it had gotten to a point where if her hair was down, she expected them to touch it. Despite Donnie appearing out of nowhere, she didn't even stiffen. This was just another thing you get used to when you live with four ninjas for weeks.

"Are you going to give me an astronomy lesson?" She asked with a smile. Pointing to a particularly bright star, she continued, "What's that one called?"

He went off on a twisted tangent, rambling about things that he knew she really didn't care about. But she listened as he twisted her hair into elaborate braids, and when she turned to smile at him, he noticed her eyes.

Her eyes always were amazing in his mind, but tonight, they seemed even brighter. The stars seemed dim compared to her sky blue orbs, and he found himself drifting off as he lost himself in them. But just as he fell silent, he realized what he was talking about, letting his words take over. The scientist wanted to change the conversation, to start talking about how beautiful his best friend was, how absolutely amazing she was. He didn't, of course. He continued with his science lesson, but despite his words, he wasn't thinking about constellations at all.


	9. Ice

**It's official. I am six chapters behind. This is really pathetic, and now I've gotta make them all up. I'll only get a couple chapters tonight most likely, and I'll be busy all tomorrow. So I guess I'll just catch up on Monday. Sorry I'm such a procrastinator! Anyways...enjoy this chapter based on Casey who is terribly ooc.**

**TMNT isn't mine.**

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Day 9: Ice

_"Casey Jones, world's best hockey player, steps onto the ice, ready to win the championship for his team again." The six year old narrowed his eyes, wielding a tree branch. He didn't notice his mother holding a video camera not ten feet away. He was far too busy focusing on getting past the opposite team, too intent on getting his plastic ball into the goal. He was going to become a great hockey player, no matter how much he had to practice. _

_Still oblivious to any company, Casey closed his eyes, envisioning a perfect goal before hitting his 'puck'. As it flew into the goal, he smiled, practically hearing the applause._

"Perfect." A lot had changed for Casey Jones in the last nine years, but his life's goal had stayed the same. One day, he was going to be a professional hockey player, one of the best ones the world had ever seen. He had been training for years, and there were many more years of training to come. Soon hockey season would start up and he'd be able to show off again, hopefully interesting at least one college who'd be willing to provide a scholarship.

Despite his grades and carefree attitude, Casey really did think about college a lot. He wanted to go, just in case his hockey career didn't take off and he needed something to fall back on. But school wasn't exactly his cup of tea. He tried to listen, he really did, but once the teacher started talking, he lost interest. The worst thing though was trigonometry. In other classes, if he crammed the night before a test, he'd get through fairly fine, but there was no way to study math because the answers changed every time. His less than average grade inspired him to get a tutor, and that's how he met April O'neil.

Ever since he had met April, his life had been flipped upside down. Not in a cliche romantic way, even that applied as well. No, Casey was thinking about mutants and ninja robots. Even though he had only ever seen the pile of guts and goo in a jar, there had to be more. April wasn't at all shocked to see the mutant, and she had called it 'Donnie's monster', whoever Donnie was. Then there was her metal fan and martial arts skills. There was a lot about April he didn't understand, but he knew one thing for sure: she didn't need any protection.

Despite April's life altering side effect, Casey was glad to have met her. Hockey was the only way he'd get to any college. His grades were pathetic, and his family wasn't the type that could easily pay for an entire tuition without any sort of aid. With that knowledge, he knew he had to bring up his grades to avoid getting kicked off the team. His coach had already warned him, telling him that if he didn't bring his grade up to at least a C by the time hockey started up again, he could forget about playing. Casey wasn't going to stop until his grades were acceptable.

After all, the ice was his home. He wasn't going to lose that for anything.


	10. Sledding

**I luckily got a chance to come on today. Hopefully I'll be able to mostly catch up...I'm not really loving this chapter, but it'll work. I suppose. Enjoy!**

**They still aren't mine.**

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Day 10. Sledding

A fresh coat of snow had recently fallen over New York City, covering everything in a thick white layer and inspiring four mutants to try out something they had seen on TV for years. Trudging up the biggest, steepest hill they could find, each mutant held a rope leading to a homemade, partially wood and partially metal sled that basically appeared to be cobbled together out of spare scraps. The entire thing was covered in a sloppy coat of green paint, as if done by a young child.

"Donnie?" The blue clad turtle grunted as he pulled his rope, walking backwards to gain a head on the sleigh. "Are you sure this is safe to use? And why is it so heavy?"

"Don't worry about it, Leo!" Donnie smiled, pulling his rope over his shoulder. "I had to use the metal I found in the dump, and the majority of it was heavier than typical sled material. If there had been enough wood, I could've just used that. Besides, the extra weight will just make my extra speed attachments work better.."

"I painted it!" Mikey exclaimed, jumping up and down as best as he could while walking up a hill. "Pretty cool, huh?" At this point, they had finally reached the top of the hill, so no one answered him. They were too busy arguing over who got to sit in the front, who would have to pull the sled back up each time, and so forth. Eventually, a compromise was reached. Or rather, Raph jumped onto the sled and told the others in no uncertain terms that if they didn't shut up in the next five seconds they'd regret it.

Mikey was the first to snap out of his initial shock, pushing the sled and jumping on it just as it started to move on its own. Before long, they were racing down the hill much faster than a sled could typically move, just like Donnie had promised. Snow sprayed up behind them as they moved, hitting their faces and adding to the whole affect. Mikey grabbed onto Raph to avoid falling, and both were cheering as loudly as they could. Just before they reached the bottom, the sled hit a rock, knocking the two brothers to the ground. The sled slid past them, but they were too busy pushing snow out of their eyes to care. Eventually they stood, grabbing the sled and dragging it back up to Donnie and Leo. Fuelled by adrenaline, the trip up wasn't near as hard as the first time, despite only having half the man power this time around.

Mikey and Raph were still laughing when they reached Donnie and Leo, hitting each other with wide grins. Donnie and Leo went down next, their ride just as bumpy as the other. Soon they were going up and down the hill, switching their orders and positions each time. After nearly an hour of sledding, all four piled onto the sled, barely managing to fit. They launched themselves down the hill, only managing to stay on by holding each other tightly. As they slid to a stop, the four had to fight for breath over their laughter. They had found a new favorite winter activity, one they planned to participate in every chance they got.


	11. The Flu

**Yeah, second chapter today! I think this is the last one I'll get done today, which means I'll have to do five tomorrow. Wonderful. I'm doing another Donnie based chapter, I know, I'm sorry, he's just the easiest to write for.**

**Not mine.**

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Day 11. The flu

Being sick sucked. Donnie could testify for that firsthand. Every year around wintertime, he got sick, despite never going to the surface before the last year. He was usually the only one to get sick, so for about a week every year he had to lay in bed puking his guts out. The only good part about being sick was that his brothers didn't force him to do anything simply because he couldn't do anything without wanting to cry out in pain and irritation. Unfortunately, because Donnie couldn't do anything, he was forced instead to let Mikey take care of him.

This year, his flu was worse than ever. His head was pounding, the walls were spinning, and he could just barely keep water down. This was probably because he and his brothers had been playing in the snow a lot that year—the cold attacked his already weak immune system, forcing him into his bed and causing vivid hallucinations.

Caught in one if these hallucinations, Donnie closed his eyes, moaning as bright colors danced around in his mind. These colors only made his nausea worse, and despite his closed eyes, he could still see them. The colors were beautiful, or at least, he thought they were, but he could hardly enjoy them. The hues were melding into each other, forming shapes and changing shades, all done sharply and clearly. A ringing had started in the mutant's ears, blocking out his own cries of pain and confusion. To him, the colors and sounds were all too real, and yet he couldn't think of a single cause behind them. The idea that he was imagining them didn't even occur to him.

After what seemed like decades to the sick turtle, the hallucinations began to fade, until the worst thing happening was a slight tinge of yellow in his sight. After the worst went away, Donnie became to feel less insane and more whiny. He really hated being sick, and he wasn't one to ignore pain. He started moaning, more to help himself than anything else. If one of his brothers came in to check on him, he would respond with a yell and a pillow thrown at the door. Every time he did so, he regretted it deeply. Not because he felt bad for treating his brothers so badly, but because he needed all of his pillows and so would have to crawl over to the door to get the thrown one. He didn't want to be cared for, he wanted to feel better.

At one point, Mikey tried to bring in a bowl of chicken noodle soup. The soup, he promised, wasn't pizza based in any way, just a normal bowl of soup. Not that it mattered to Donnie. Just the smell was nauseating enough to make him yell and throw an entire comforter at Mikey, leaving him freezing cold with noodles all over the ground.

His constant motion and groaning did accomplish one thing: they completely drained his energy, making it that much easier for him to drift into dreamland. For a few blissful hours, the lair was empty of any complaining, which was a blessing for everyone involved. For that small period of time, being sick wasn't nearly as horrible as it was. After all, hallucinations that occurred while sleeping make great dreams.


	12. Wrapping Gifts

**Okay, I had stuff to do today, so I couldn't update. If the place I'm going to tomorrow has wifi, I should be able to get in a couple more chapters. Trust me, I'll be caught up eventually! This is more of a drabble type thing, not a real plot, just some descriptiveness. So, enjoy the new chapter or whatever!**

**They really aren't mine.**

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Day 12: Wrapping Gifts

The four mutants had four very different personalities. You could figure that out just by watching them for a few minutes. These personalities were clear, distinct, and strong. They were obvious through the words they spoke, the actions they took, right down to the way they walked. With such clear personalities, they all did things in different ways, and this included wrapping presents.

Let's start with Leo, the oldest. His goal in life was to be perfect in everything he did, from training to using chopsticks to wrapping Christmas gifts. He wrapped presents with a certain precision, cutting the paper just so and holding the gift together with perfectly sized pieces of tape. Of course, as with anything, there were a few flaws, the most notable being that Leo couldn't wrap corners at all. He typically ended up holding down a lump of paper with as much tape as possible.

Raph, second oldest and hotheaded. While Leo wanted things done right, he wanted them down fast. His presents were wrapped before anyone else had even finished one gift. However, the quality was shoddy at best. The paper was torn in places it shouldn't be, and the tape was either barely holding the paper together of was a foot long and wrapped multiple times. Not that this mattered to Raph. As long as he was finished quickly and preferably first, the quality didn't matter.

Then there was Donnie, the third oldest and a bit of a genius. He was always building one thing or inventing another, never taking a break from being nerdy. Surprisingly, his scientific attitude didn't apply much to his gift wrapping skills. Like Leo, he liked the presents to be wrapped neatly and nicely. Unlike Leo, he was naturally good at wrapping gifts, specifically the corners, which were always as uniform as a hospital bed.

And finally, we have Mikey, the youngest. He was a compete goofball, although his serious side could come out at points. He took the longest to wrap gifts simply because he liked to make his own paper. He would get white paper and would color over the entire thing, adding any designs and patterns he thought his brothers would enjoy. Being the observant turtle that he was, he was usually spot on.

So there you have it: Four turtle brothers, four different personalities, four different ways to wrap gifts. Each thinks his way his best, each thinks the others could stand to improve in one way or another. Not that it nattered to them-after all, presents are presents, right?


	13. Scarves

**It's official, I'm a million chapters behind on this thing. So, I am sorry for that, and hopefully I will be caught up soon. I'll try to finish before Christmas, at least, anyway. I took a different route on this chapter than most others, and it's April based. Again. So...enjoy this incredibly late chapter!**

**I'm not doing any more disclaimers.**

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Day 13: Scarves

April walked through her aunt's apartment, studying the place as she brought in the final box of her things. Not much had changed. After all, it had only been a couple months since her dad had gotten rescued that he was torn away again, this time in the form of mutation. After just getting back into her what could be considered normal by comparison life, after she just finished unpacking everything, she had to move again. With a sigh, she dropped the box on the floor of her room, sitting down to begin unpacking.

She pulled assorted articles of clothing out of the box, folding each neatly and setting them to the side. This time around, she had brought more than the necessities; at least three boxes were filled with keepsakes and knick knacks she couldn't bear to give up. No matter how hard Donnie tried, the ginger knew a cure wouldn't be found anytime soon, if one was found at all. As far as she knew, living at her aunt's could become a nearly permanent situation, and there were certain things April needed to get through that.

Having finished with the first box, she pulled one of the aforementioned three boxes over to her. As she pulled out each item, memories flooded her. Nearly all were of her dad, making her pause after each thing to close her eyes and think about who he had been, and who-or what-he was now. This slowed down the unpacking process considerably, but April managed to hold it together until she brought out the last three items. Three scarves, one yellow, one red, and one blue.

The memory behind these scarves hit her like a freight train. She had only been seven years when she got this scarf, but she could remember the day clearly. Her mother had just taken up knitting. She was like that, always starting new hobbies and abandoning them soon after. Knitting was one of her more serious endeavors: she had gone so far as to take a training class built around the craft and had half-finished projects sitting all around the house.

Sometime around the middle of September, April and her parents were taking pictures for their Christmas cards. Just before they posed, her mom had gleefully presented them with scarves 'in our favorite colors!' They were amateur at best, filled with holes and scraggly thread ends. The wool she had chosen to use was scratchy and thick, and the entire scarf was off in a way April couldn't quite put her finger on. Yet they had seemed so beautiful at the time, just because the maker had given them with a bright smile and proud eyes.

After the picture had been taken, the scarves were stuffed into a box, only getting pulled out for each year's new Christmas picture. It had become a tradition, their tradition, one that was forced to end a few years after it had begun. As April held these scarves, she didn't notice any of the mistakes in them. To her, it was as if the softest silk in existence had been spun into this perfectly made scarf, a scarf that held more memories than she knew what to do with. It felt wrong to ignore these memories, and so she wrapped the scarf around her neck before continuing to unpack.


	14. Christmas Movies

**Not much to say today. Enjoy the chapter.**

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Day 14: Christmas Movies

Christmas movies. That's all that was on the three channels Donnie had managed to get on their television. Every day a terrapin would go through the channels filled with hope, and every day they were left with irritation and disappointment. It wasn't like the movies were classic, family one either. If they were, the brothers would've been enthusiastic, as that was yet another thing they had missed out on. No, they had to deal with sickeningly sweet love stories that just so happened to be set at Christmas. So when April heard about their dilemma and brought by a box of classic holiday movies, they decided to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate new movies than a movie night?

The four, huddled in blankets, somehow managed to cram themselves onto one couch, eyes wide with anticipation at finally watching a real Christmas movie. For once, no one was fighting, and with four teenage boys, that didn't last long. Within two minutes of the first preview, Mikey managed to tick off Raph, leaving Donnie and Leo to sit awkwardly on the couch while making uncomfortable small talk.

This talk didn't last long. No one likes discussing the weather, much less two mutants who hardly ever got to see the weather during the day anyway. So after a few more minutes of wondering just how long the previews were going to last, Donnie and Leo grew restless. Donnie glanced from his lab door to his older brother, pleading in his eyes. This earned a lecture about how important family was and how he should spend time with them as much as he could, a lesson Leo was directing to himself just as much to his younger brother.

But after what seemed like an hour of previews, the opening theme started playing, and like magic all four were huddled on the couch again, just like they had been before. They watched the movie, and another and another, until they had all drifted off to sleep. Every movie, the same thing happened during the previews, but every time everyone was silent the second the movie started.

The next morning, Donnie woke up before his brothers. With a yawn, he walked over to his lab door and put his hand on the doorknob. Before he went in, he turned and looked at his sleeping brothers. As annoying as they were, the movie night had been fun, so in the early dawn, when no one could hear him, he whispered,

"I should hang out with you guys more. You aren't complete idiots."


	15. Family

**I just had an amazing idea for the Christmas Eve chapter and so I've got to get caught up now so I can write it.**

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Day 15: Family

Leo closed his eyes, trying his best to focus on meditation bit failing miserably. Try as he might, he couldn't block out his brothers in the background, yelling and running like a group of preschoolers. Preschoolers. A perfect way to describe the three loud, immature mutants who refused to listen to their leader, i.e himself. Instead, they decided to act like chickens with their heads cut off, not proper ninjas at all. They hardly even meditated. Knowing he wouldn't be able to focus on meditation, Leo focused his mind on his brothers.

By far the loudest and least behaved of the four was Raph. If Leo was giving the orders, he refused to take them, just because he knew it made him angry. He was rude, he was disrespectful, and he considered himself better than everyone else when in reality, he wasn't. He was an insufferable jerk! But then, he was a great fighter, despite ignoring his form and neglecting his training. And he did care an awful lot about his brothers, by far the most caring of them, even if he wouldn't admit it.

Donnie was the polar opposite of Raph-so quiet Leo hardly knew he was there half the time. But this wasn't a good thing, since this silence was mainly attributed to his lab, a room he never left. He had to be forced out for training, which, not to be rude, was something he needed a lot more of. One of the only things that could get him out was April, and that brought Leo to another point. He was so obsessive and quite honestly, creepy when it came to her. But when she wasn't around, neither was Donnie, making him utterly useless. But on the other hand, he did make some cool inventions. After all, where would they be without the Shellraiser or their t-phones? Not to mention every time he fixed something they had broken, like that toaster that was mysteriously set on fire that time Leo tried to cook...

And finally, Mikey. Mikey acted more like an eight year old than a fifteen year old. He was everywhere at once, always ready to annoy the heck out of a normally serious Leo. He actually enjoyed being a ninja more than the other two. Not that that made him train more or anything. He had so much untapped potential that could easily be reached if only he focused less on pizza and skateboarding. He was a slightly better fighter than Don, but not by much. In that aspect, he was pretty lacking. Of course, without Mikey, there'd be a lot less smiling. He was, after all, their main source of enjoyment just because his good mood was contagious. And without him to cook, they would've starved years ago.

"Leo? You wanna play Ninja—oh, meditating, right." Speaking of the orange clad turtle. He poked his head into the dojo long enough to notice that Leo was still in meditating position, despite giving up meditation long ago. The mutant couldn't help but smile as Mikey left the room with a shouted 'Sorry!'. Sure, they were loud, obnoxious, and neglected their training, but they were still his family. The best one he could ever wish for. With the same smile, he stood, walking out of the dojo and watching them play dodgeball for a bit before joining in.


End file.
